International Women’s Day 2022 #BreaktheBias
Today, we celebrate International Women’s Day. This is a day to celebrate all the women who are making their voices heard, who are taking on leadership roles, and who are acting as role models for generations to come. This is a day for both reflecting on the progress and strides made in achieving gender equality, and looking at areas where we can still make progress.
Reverse the Trend: Save Our People, Save Our Planet works to uplift the voices of youth from marginalized communities, this includes women’s voices that have for too long been excluded from the decision-making table. We believe that it is essential to include a diverse range of voices when considering issues such as climate change, nuclear disarmament, and social justice. It is especially important to take into consideration the voices of indigenous women who are highly affected by both climate change and nuclear disarmament and yet are too often left out of the conversation.
This year’s IWD theme is #BreaktheBias. Bias makes it difficult for women to move forward regardless of whether or not that bias is intentional. Breaking those gendered norms and stereotypes is one of the key ingredients to achieving gender equality. At RTT, we #BreaktheBias by rejecting the patriarchal system and discourse that perpetuates gender equality. This especially includes the gendered discourse and gender roles incorporated in nuclear weapons and the military industrial complex. These systems are steeped with gendered norms, stereotypes, and gendered discourse, all of which contribute to gender inequality.
Importantly, the IWD website notes that “knowing that bias exists isn’t enough. Action is needed to level the playing field.” The UN has also declared a theme for this year’s International Women’s Day – this theme focuses on women in the context of climate change under the banner “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.” Climate change is one of the key issues that we focus on at Reverse the Trend, so this theme is personal for us. The UN’s International Women’s Day theme calls for women and girls to have a voice and “be equal players in decision-making related to climate change and sustainability.” Nuclear weapons disproportionately impact women and girls. Similarly, climate change disproportionately affects women. It is only fair that women be included in discussions and decision-making surrounding both nuclear weapons and climate change policies.
This year, RTT intends to take action to #BreaktheBias within our community and abroad. We will continue to uplift the voices of women worldwide, promote and support women’s leadership, and advocate for a world where women’s contributions to disarmament, climate change, and social justice have been fully and effectively normalized.
